Residents urge Lewis County to expand commission to five members and hold evening meetings

During the Feb. 11 Lewis County Board of Commissioners meeting, multiple residents used the public-comment period to press the board to consider structural and scheduling changes to increase public participation.

Scott Tennant of Chehalis told the commissioners he supports expanding the county commission from three to five members and cited state law as an avenue for doing so. "RCW 36.32.055 provides a clear legal pathway for Lewis County to expand its board of commissioners," Tennant said, and listed what he called "the 5 benefits that I see from increasing it to a 5 person commission: increased representation, enhanced accountability, improved decision making, reduced workload, and alignment with growth." He urged the board to initiate the change by resolution or to support a voter petition.

Ray Chapman Wilson of Centralia asked the commissioners to consider moving meetings to evening hours or a weekend to make them accessible to working residents. "I'm just hoping to ask you all if you would consider please moving these meetings to evening time or a Saturday," Wilson said, adding, "Most people can't do this during a workday." Wilson also suggested that making commissioner positions unpaid could return “more than $300,000” to the community during tight budget periods.

Greg Cole of Jales asked whether the board would address urban growth-area matters; staff responded that the subject was not on the day's agenda and offered to speak with him after the meeting.

The public-comment speakers were recorded in the meeting minutes and the comments were entered into the record; no formal action on commission size or meeting times was taken at the Feb. 11 session.